SALUTI — Restaurant in Town of Lake George

We ate at Saluti's on 3 Aug 2020, party of 4. We were promptly seated, as there was no wait and open tables. Our order was brought to the table and the waiter took our drink order: a dirty vodka martini and a Coors beer. The drinks arrived about 15 minutes after they were ordered. The martini tasted like it was made with gin, not vodka, but the bartender insisted she had used vodka. Perhaps too much Vermouth???

We placed our order, consisting of two appetizers and four meals. After about 45 minutes, our lightly fried mozzarella arrived. It was delicious. The wait…not so much. During our wait, our waiter didn’t check on us nor explain why we had to wait so long for our appetizers. Further, we had to ask for more water and iced tea as he didn’t bother to refresh our drinks.

After we finished our appetizers, we waited, AT LEAST, another 45 minutes before our meal came. Again, no communication as to why the absurdly long wait to eat. We asked to see the manager, whom, as it turned out, was the bartender. We complained about the martini, to which she didn’t offer an apology but simply said it was made correctly. Then she explained they were short-handed, thus the long wait for our food. Meanwhile, we noticed people coming in after us were being served before we were.

Our dinner finally arrived. The chicken francis was excellent, cooked perfectly. The fettucine alfredo with chicken, on the other hand, was fairly tasteless/bland, as was the frutti di mare. The Caesar salad was okay; however, it was served with anchovies, which was not mentioned in the description on the menu. We promptly had them removed while the manager threw the waiter under the bus for not telling us they would be in the salad.

Finally, and perhaps most disturbing, was the charge on the bill titled ‘non-cash charge’. We asked what this additional $5 charge entailed and we were told it was to cover fees for paying with a credit card. It begs the question: why, if we paid by cash? Would they have removed the charge? We’re not sure as when we produced cash, they struggled to move the charge from the bill. Clearly, Saluti charges the no-cash surcharge without knowing whether the customer is paying cash or credit. We wonder how many people paid this fee on a cash bill.

NOTE: From a NY Post article (27 Apr 2019) regarding the non-cash charge: “Adding a surcharge as a percentage of the tab is still illegal even though the Court of Appeals said extra fees are now allowed. Under the new rules, the higher credit card price is supposed to be listed in “dollars and cents” on the menu or price tag or sign in order to avoid consumers having to do the math on the upcharge themselves, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. Some merchants are camouflaging the credit card surcharge by calling it a “non-cash adjustment” or “svc fee.” Others are writing it in tiny type on the menu or in barely noticeable signs that blend in with other notices. Those who violate the law could face a fine of up to $500 or up to one year in jail or both, according to the AG’s Office.” If there was anything up-front about this surcharge, it was not obvious on the menu or via signage in the restaurant!

Bottom-line, if the staff had communicated there would be delays in service, we would have been forgiving in our review. Instead, the manager argued about the drink and there was no offer of a discount or free dessert for the long delays in service. We will NOT dine at...

My family and I recently visited Saluti during our vacation to Lake George. We first called to make a reservation and the person who took the reservation was very friendly and helpful. Upon arriving, we were quickly seated. The dining area inside is lovely, albeit a little closed in with the tables very close to one another.

Our server was prompt and polite. We first ordered a round of drinks which we very much enjoyed. Next, we ordered the bread plate appetizer, as other reviewers alerted us to the fact that Saluti does not provide bread for the table. This was a disappointment. We saw other tables around us order the bread plate, and theirs displayed a nice variety of breads, including one that looked nicely grilled. When ours arrived, it only contained two types of bread, both of which were quite bland. It was nice, however, that the plate included a delicious butter and a grilled bulb of garlic. More consistency would be appreciated with this appetizer. We also ordered a Ceasar salad as an appetizer. When we asked for ground pepper, the employee did not know what it was, despite explanation and asking others. This is a great learning opportunity for management to train all employees, including food runners, on these details.

Our main courses were delicious. We ordered fettuccine alfredo, eggplant rigatoni, and Ceasar salad with salmon.

For dessert we had the tartufo, the peanut butter explosion, and the cheesecake. They were all quite decadent!

Our server did bring the check at the beginning of our dessert course, which is never appreciated. Regardless of their intent, it always feels like you are being rushed at this point. Since they weren't crowded, the check definitely could have waited.

All in all, Saluti was a great experience. We will return and...

Our servers were not attentive, and seemed unfamiliar with their menu offerings. Several of our drink orders were wrong, and one of our party was skipped or ignored when attempting to order meals and drinks. When the food was served, one of the dishes ordered was not brought out and our party could not eat together.

Water refills were difficult to request or obtain, and our server would walk away while our party was ordering.

We had brought a cake for our dinner, and we ran into many issues when attempting to leave. The stairs are narrow and hard to navigate, and we were abruptly rushed to “move out of the way” of a server when we were walking down the stairs from the top.

Once we reached the bottom our party member carrying the cake tripped on the last stair, and immediately one of their staff exclaimed a version of “are you … kidding” rather than offering help.

We had called later to discuss this with their team and we’re told by the manager that they can’t believe their staff would do or say anything of the sort.

We were later called by the owner who seemed to show even less compassion or care than their manager, saying that someone trips in the same spot monthly, that a sign was up, and that it was a customer who must have made their rude exclamation.

We regret visiting this restaurant and would advise others to steer clear.

Update: the response to this review shows the overall lack of accountability and antagonistic nature of the owner or manager who’s chosen to respond. Their own staff, who we spoke with initially confirmed with us as well that they were in fact on the stars while we traveled down. The claims of it being a customer rather than staff making rude remarks could only be true if their customers carry their own drinks on trays, which seems...